Geneva, city of pleasure and vice?

Austerity is what comes to mind when the City of Calvin is evoked. But the people of Geneva and the many visitors to the city have never stopped indulging in all types of activities, even when forbidden.

Jean Calvin considered Geneva “a perverse nation”.

Let’s take the side streets through different neighbourhoods in search of the places of pleasure and vice, discreet or out in the open depending on the period.

Red Light District Tour

Cette ballade de deux heures suit l’histoire de la prostitution à Genève. Aujourd’hui le travail du sexe tarifé est légal en Suisse, mais ceci n’a pas toujours été le cas, notamment dans la Cité de Calvin.

Vous allez voir que  la ville et ses alentours ont toujours proposé des lieux – visibles ou cachées – où se pratique le plus vieux métier du monde. Promenade « sulfureuse » à travers les âges depuis la Vieille-ville jusqu’au quartier des Pâquis.

Geneva, city of pleasure and vice

This walk through several centuries will take us from the traditional working-class neighbourhoods of Pâquis and St Gervais, along the chic lake-front promenades, to the city’s historical centres in the Rues Basses and the Old Town.

Along the way, we will pass through present and past red light districts, former casinos and gambling places, cabarets … and more.